Friday, August 02, 2013

The I Can See Clearly Now Weekly Link Round-Up

We had a few days' break from the monsoon this week, and the lack of humidity was bliss. While Denis is hard at work next Monday, I'll be heading over to The Poisoned Pen to see C.J. Box and Paul Doiron. (I'd better start limbering up my scribbling fingers now!)

The only real news for the week happened today when I picked up my three new pairs of glasses at Costco. I did have to reassure the woman helping me that they hadn't made a mistake with my reading glasses. Denis found the perfect frames for that particular pair, since they came with a pair of polarized, magnetic sunglasses. I do a lot of reading outside in very bright sunlight, and I've been making do with an old, ill-fitting pair of clip-on sunglasses I borrowed from Denis. I've already tested my new reading glasses out in the pool, complete with their snazzy sunglasses. Wow-- I can see clearly now, and there's no glare! The other two pairs are a treat, too. It wasn't much of a change in my prescription, but I can certainly tell the difference (especially while sitting here at the computer).

Since I've been bragging about how well I can see, I'd better go take a look for those links I've been saving up for y'all....

Bookish News & Other Interesting Stuff

It's been a good time for marine archaeologists in the Gulf of Mexico lately. One team was examining a shipwreck they'd found southeast of Galveston when they found two more wrecks. Another group off the coast of Alabama are fighting to preserve a unique primeval underwater forest that was probably uncovered by Hurricane Katrina. If they're unsuccessful, it will be destroyed to make some insanely high-priced coffee tables.

Kelly Clarkson paid $228,000 for a ring that belonged to Jane Austen, and now the UK government is telling her she can't take it out of the country. Seems to me that this could've been handled a bit better.

Overstock.com is trying to undersell Amazon on books. What genius thought this one up?

J.K. Rowling wasn't happy about her lawyers spilling the beans about her pseudonym. She sued 'em, she won, and I love what she's doing with the money.

"A book published during the presidency of Chester A. Arthur [1880s] has a greater chance of being in print today than one published during the time of Reagan," or how copyright made mid-century books vanish.

I love old houses, and I've been scrolling through the Historic House Blog, which happens to have an article about a member of an historical preservation society who's trying to demolish a rare 1790 Dutch colonial home. (Is that a head scratcher or what?)

In Memoriam

I've been in shock since I saw news of Leighton Gage's death last weekend. Leighton Gage wrote a marvelous series of police procedurals set in Brazil. He was also the first author who ever made contact with me about my blog. We exchanged emails over the past few years, neither one of us talking about our health. My sincerest condolences to his family. Leighton was one of the kindest, most giving humans I've had the pleasure to know. I will miss not only his books, but his humor, his helpfulness, and his insight. He was a gentleman, and a gentle man.

So glad you got your glasses. I have to follow your lead and take care of that issue myself as sometimes I can't read the TV subtitles or have to hold books far away or very close. Need to fix that.

I love those 25 signs of a book addiction. I have it and find it humorous and comforting to see a description of what ails me -- in detail. Oh, how often I stay up reading a riveting book, ignoring how I'll feel the next day, oblivious to tasks at hand. And how often I see a friend and begin discussing books first thing, and how lost I feel between (good) books!

It reminds me of how ecstatic I was at age 11 when I discovered that even though I had to be in bed at a certain time, I could surreptitiously turn on a flashlight and read under the covers. Then in high school I was late to early classes because I was up late reading good books.

Leighton Gage's death from pancreatic cancer at 71 was a terrible loss; must be inestimable to his family. What a kind, gracious and generous person he was. He responded quickly and in a friendly way to emails.

I especially looked forward to his blogs about Brazil at Murder Is Everywhere. He covered art, architecture, the wonders of nature, history, literature, politics, more. I learned more about Brazil than I ever knew, and missed his columns when he stopped posting.

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About Me

Hi! I'm addicted to books (especially crime fiction), laughter and traveling off the beaten path. In my free time, when my eyes aren't glued to the printed page, one of them is usually pressed against the viewfinder of my camera. Let's see... books, laughter, travel, photography. Anything else? Oh yeah-- my dream house wouldn't have a kitchen!